Farmland Atlas · county record

Rockbridge County, Virginia

Rockbridge County, VA: non-irrigated cash rent $33 an acre (2026); land and buildings $5,763 an acre in the 2022 census; median corn yield 140.7 bu/ac. County averages from public records, not an appraisal of any farm. FIPS 51163. Figures as of 2026-09-20.

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Non-irrigated cash rent in Rockbridge County runs $33 per acre in 2026, down 8.3 percent from 2016. Corn yield has moved up over 2008-2025 at 0.5 bushels per acre a year, with a median of 140.7 bushels per acre and a worst year of 99 in 2008. No cropland here is irrigated, per the 2022 census. Heat and drought drove 81 percent of crop insurance indemnities from 1989-2025, with the share rising across 1989-1999, 2000-2009, and 2010-2019 before easing in 2020-2025. July nights have warmed, averaging 64.7 F over 2017-2026 against a 1991-2020 normal of 63.2 F. Census land value stood at $5,763 per acre in 2022, up 17.2 percent from 2017.

Cash rent, non-irrigated
$33/ac
2026 county average
VA median $47 · tied for 16th lowest of 84
Land and buildings
$5,763/ac
2022: what operators guessed land and buildings were worth
VA median $4,596 · 27th highest of 86
Rent as % of land value
—
not shown: cropland is 28% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland
Corn yield, 2008–2025 median
140.7 bu/ac
13 published years
Claims paid per $100 of coverage
$7.24
2016–2025, closed crop years
VA median $8.45 · 29th lowest of 67
Farmland rented
34%
2022 census, rented from others
VA median 33% · 39th highest of 90

Cash rent

$0$10$20$302010201520202025$23$33 dry

Dollars per acre, USDA NASS county survey. A break in a line is a year with no published survey; nothing is drawn across it.

Non-irrigated, 2026$33/ac
Change 2016 to 2026−8.3%nominal, $36 to $33
Pasture, 2026$22/ac

Land value

Land and buildings, 2022$5,763/acoperators' own estimate, not a sale price
Census 2012$4,296/ac
Census 2017$4,918/ac
Change 2017 to 2022+17.2%+3.2% a year, nominal
Dry rent ÷ census value— cropland is 28% of land in farms (2022 census), so the census value is mostly pasture, woods and buildings, not cropland

Corn yield

20082010201220142016201820202022202499.0163.3141.0median 140.7

Bushels per acre, USDA NASS county yields, all practices. The dashed line is the median of the published years.

Median, 2008–2025140.7 bu/ac13 published years
Lowest published year2008: 99.0 bu/ac70% of median
Trend, 2008–2025+0.5 bu/ac a year±2.8 (95% interval)

Crop insurance record

Claims paid divided by total premium (the farmer share plus the federal subsidy), each closed crop year since 1989. Above the dashed line, the county's insurance book paid out more than it took in. 2026, still open, is left out.

Claims paid per $100 of coverage, 2016–2025$7.24
Loss ratio, 2016–20250.58claims ÷ total premium
Loss ratio, 1989–20250.72$2.6 million paid
Largest causes of loss, 1989–2025heat and drought 81% · excess moisture 8% · other 5%share of dollars paid

Drought and weather

2000200520102015202020250230

Weeks per year, U.S. Drought Monitor, with half the county or more in D2 (severe) drought or worse.

D2 or worse for half the county, 2000–202539 of 1,357 weeks3% of weeks
Year with the most D2+ weeks200223 weeks
Last five years, 2021–202515 weeks
July average of daily lows, 2017–202664.7 °F1991–2020 normal 63.2 °F
Trend in July lows since 1976+0.54 °F a decadewarming
Rain, April to September24.5 in1991–2020 normal; last ten years 109% of it
Days with hail 1 inch or larger1.1 a yearreports, 2010–2025; a zero is no report, not proof of no hail

Land, water and programs

Harvested cropland irrigated, 20220%
Farmed no-till, 202212% of cropland4,138 ac
Cover crops, 20227% of cropland2,443 ac
198619911996200120062011201620210580243

Acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, USDA FSA, by fiscal year.

CRP enrolled, 2025243 ac0.8% of harvested cropland + CRP
CRP expiring FY2026–202869 ac28% of enrolled acres
CRP average rental payment, FY2025$86/acall contracts in force, old ones included; not today's offer
Solar and wind operating, 20257.5 MW solar · 0 MW windnameplate, EIA Form 860
Cattle and calves, 202229,919−3.7% since 2017
Farmland rented from others, 202234%census tenure, owned plus rented acres in farms

Next door

CountyDry rentLand valueCorn yieldClaims per $100
Rockbridge County$33$5,763—$7.24
Alleghany County$33$3,293——
Amherst County$26$5,795—$44.05
Augusta County$105$7,594146.2$12.19
Bath County$45$4,314——
Bedford County$28$5,539—$25.43
Botetourt County$30$5,457—$30.55
Buena Vista City————
Lexington City————
Nelson County$40$5,566—$32.86
Median next door$33$5,539146.2 1 co.$30.55

Counties that share a stretch of boundary. An older rent carries its year and stays out of the median.

Cite this page

AGSIST Farmland Atlas. Rockbridge County, Virginia. Figures as of 2026-09-20, from USDA NASS, USDA RMA, USDA FSA, the U.S. Drought Monitor and NOAA. https://agsist.com/farmland-atlas/virginia/rockbridge-county
Every figure is a county average from the sources named below. Ranks count counties with 10,000 acres or more in farms, in the same survey year for rent, within the state. Methods: how each figure is built. Downloads: all counties, CSV.
Sources, dates and arithmetic

"Figures as of" is the date this page's numbers last changed; it moves only when a figure on the page does. Source files and their retrieval dates are listed on the data page.

Rent: USDA NASS Cash Rents Survey, county. Land value: Census of Agriculture, operators' estimate of land and buildings. Yield: NASS county corn yields, trend fitted here over every published year since 2008. Loss ratio: claims (indemnity) divided by total premium, USDA RMA Summary of Business, 1989 on, open crop year left out. Drought: U.S. Drought Monitor, weeks with half the county or more in D2 or worse. July lows: NOAA nClimDiv county monthly minimum temperature. A dash means the record does not carry the figure or the source withheld it; the reason is printed beside it.